"I didn't think it would have such a big impact," Ashby told the San Antonio Express-News. "I was hesitant because I thought people would think it was gross or weird and didn't think people would be inspired by it or even read it. But it just exploded." Ashby, a 20-year-old mass communication senior, described the challenges he faced in the article but also calls his experience a "success story."

Maxed out

"The day of move-in, I wandered around campus not sure of what to do," Ashby writes. "While other freshmen were busy moving into their dorms, I sat in my car and duct-taped bed sheets to my car windows."

Ashby gained 44 hours of college credit in high school, applied unsuccessfully for numerous scholarships and maxed out on federal education loans, but after his tuition was paid, he said he was "left with nothing but a few hundred bucks in my bank account."

Texas State's dorm rooms were $3,000 or more per semester and the cheapest meal plan was $14 per day, Ashby wrote.

Investing in the future

He used the library for "air conditioning and internet access." To make ends meet, Ashby got a graveyard shift job at McDonald's working 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. "I would take a small nap before waking up dreary eyed to head to my 8:00 a.m. classes," he wrote.

Despite the challenges Ashby faced pursuing his goal of a college degree, he began to make the best out of the situation, filling his "freshman year with personal and career goals.".

"Although living out of my car definitely had more negatives than positives, I started seeing the benefits," he wrote. "Instead of spending afternoons taking naps or going on impromptu trips to Wal-Mart, I stayed in the library and studied. Whenever free time came up, I would visit my professor's office hours to talk about the course material." Ashby is in the position to graduate with a bachelor's degree in two and a half years, while most college students graduate in about five years.

"Seize the opportunities around you. Don't spend endless afternoons napping or watching Netflix. Visit career services, explore job descriptions, do internships. It will be a well investment to your time and future," he wrote.

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